Double Length Filter Plug And Cigarette Connector Sheet Applicator

Patent No. US3665930 (titled "Double Length Filter Plug And Cigarette Connector Sheet Applicator") was filed by AMF on Mar 26, 1970. The application was issued on May 30, 1972.

'930 is related to the field of cigarette manufacturing, specifically to machines that attach filter plugs to cigarettes using connector sheets. The background involves the need for efficient methods to produce filter-tipped cigarettes, where a filter plug is joined to two cigarette ends using a paper connector wrapped around them.

The underlying idea behind '930 is to use a rotating drum with strategically placed fins and suction to automate the process of applying connector sheets to cigarette-filter-cigarette assemblies. The key insight is to combine mechanical rolling with pneumatic retention to wrap the connector sheet tightly and reliably around the filter and cigarette ends.

The claims of '930 focus on a rotating drum with two sets of longitudinal projections defining an intermediate region. This drum is paired with a cutter that segments connector sheets from a continuous tape, and a transfer mechanism that places cigarette-filter assemblies onto the drum. Pneumatic suction holds the components in place as they are rolled to wrap the connector sheet.

In practice, the drum rotates, and the cigarette-filter assembly is pressed against a stationary surface. The friction between the assembly and this surface, combined with the drum's rotation, causes the assembly to roll. This rolling action wraps the adhesive-coated connector sheet around the filter and the ends of the cigarettes. The precise spacing of the fins on the drum ensures proper alignment and wrapping.

The invention differentiates itself by incorporating a detection mechanism that identifies and rejects assemblies missing either the connector sheet or the filter plug. A lever arm applies pressure to the assembly; if either component is missing, the assembly is rejected, ensuring only complete and properly connected cigarette-filter units proceed further in the manufacturing process. This automatic rejection system improves quality control and reduces waste.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical Landscape

In the late 1960s when '930 was filed, cigarette manufacturing typically involved discrete stages of production, with filter attachment often being a separate process. At a time when automation was increasingly common, the reliable and high-speed application of connector sheets to join filter plugs and cigarette segments presented engineering challenges. Pneumatic systems were commonly used for material handling, and mechanical linkages provided synchronized motion control.

Prosecution Position

The disclosed invention provides a system for continuously applying connector sheets to axially aligned cigarette segments and a double-length filter plug. This is achieved through a rotating drum with specifically positioned fins, a connector sheet cutter, and pneumatic retention mechanisms. The system ensures the connector sheet is wrapped around the filter plug and cigarette ends by rolling the assembly on the drum's periphery. Furthermore, the system incorporates a detection mechanism to identify and reject assemblies lacking either a connector sheet or a filter plug, thereby improving product quality and reducing waste.

Claims

This patent contains zero claims, so there are no independent or dependent claims to analyze.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)	Support for Specification	Interpretation
Connector sheets (Claim 1)	In this invention, connector sheets are applied to pairs of axially aligned cigarettes and an interposed double length filter plug. When making filter tip cigarettes, a filter plug is interposed between and attached to two cigarettes by a glue coated connection sheet. The connector sheet is rolled around the filter plug and around the ends of the cigarettes which are positioned to press against both ends of the filter plugs to obtain a reliable and satisfactory attachment at all points without air pockets being formed.	Sheets of material, coated with adhesive, used to connect a pair of axially aligned cigarettes with an interposed double length filter plug.
Cutter mechanism (Claim 1)	In this invention, connector sheets are applied to pairs of axially aligned cigarettes and an interposed double length filter plug. To accomplish this, there is provided a rotating drum having on its periphery two corresponding groups of longitudinal fins or projections, laterally interspaced between each other, in order to delimit an intermediate region or ring of the drum periphery, whose width is slightly greater than the filter plug length, while the length of the projection spacing pitch is substantially equal to that of the circumference of a cigarette, the drum being operatively associated with a cutter mechanism which cuts the connector sheets from a continuous tape of paper which is coated with glue on its upper surface, in relation to the drum, in the area corresponding to the intermediate region between two successive fins, said drum being also associated with a transfer means to transfer on said drum, for each connector sheet, a pair of cigarettes with the interposed filter plug, and pneumatic cigarette and connector sheet retaining means being provided which cooperate with the drum.	A mechanism that cuts connector sheets from a continuous tape of paper.
Double length filter plug (Claim 1)	The present invention relates to cigarette makers in general, and, more particularly, to a device which has for its object to apply a connector sheet to a pair of cigarettes in axial alignment having interposed between them a filter plug of twice the final length desired for one cigarette. To increase the output of a cigarette maker, it has been found convenient to assemble a pair of cigarettes which originate from the cigarette maker proper with a double length filter plug in such a manner that the two cigarettes press against the two ends of a filter plug to form an axially aligned assemblage or pair of cigarettes consisting of a cigarette, a double length filter plug and another cigarette.	A filter plug that is twice the length of a standard filter plug for a single cigarette.
Longitudinal fins (Claim 1)	In this invention, connector sheets are applied to pairs of axially aligned cigarettes and an interposed double length filter plug. To accomplish this, there is provided a rotating drum having on its periphery two corresponding groups of longitudinal fins or projections, laterally interspaced between each other, in order to delimit an intermediate region or ring of the drum periphery, whose width is slightly greater than the filter plug length, while the length of the projection spacing pitch is substantially equal to that of the circumference of a cigarette, the drum being operatively associated with a cutter mechanism which cuts the connector sheets from a continuous tape of paper which is coated with glue on its upper surface, in relation to the drum, in the area corresponding to the intermediate region between two successive fins, said drum being also associated with a transfer means to transfer on said drum, for each connector sheet, a pair of cigarettes with the interposed filter plug, and pneumatic cigarette and connector sheet retaining means being provided which cooperate with the drum.	Projections on the periphery of the rotating drum that define an intermediate region for applying connector sheets.
Rotating drum (Claim 1)	In this invention, connector sheets are applied to pairs of axially aligned cigarettes and an interposed double length filter plug. To accomplish this, there is provided a rotating drum having on its periphery two corresponding groups of longitudinal fins or projections, laterally interspaced between each other, in order to delimit an intermediate region or ring of the drum periphery, whose width is slightly greater than the filter plug length, while the length of the projection spacing pitch is substantially equal to that of the circumference of a cigarette, the drum being operatively associated with a cutter mechanism which cuts the connector sheets from a continuous tape of paper which is coated with glue on its upper surface, in relation to the drum, in the area corresponding to the intermediate region between two successive fins, said drum being also associated with a transfer means to transfer on said drum, for each connector sheet, a pair of cigarettes with the interposed filter plug, and pneumatic cigarette and connector sheet retaining means being provided which cooperate with the drum.	A drum with longitudinal fins or projections on its periphery, used to apply connector sheets to cigarettes and filter plugs.

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US3665930

AMF

Application Number: US3665930D
Filing Date: Mar 26, 1970
Publication Date: May 30, 1972
External Links: Slate, USPTO, Google Patents

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